Current Exhibits
Featured Manufacturer Gallery / Long-term Exhibit
This gallery features changing exhibits showcasing a specific toy manufacturer. Currently, the exhibit focuses on...
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Optical Toys / Long-term Exhibit
Take a peek at the history of optical toys from Peep Shows through ViewMaster. The...
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Let’s Play House / Long-term Exhibit
Can you imagine playing with a dollhouse that is over 9 feet tall? The 9’...
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Iconic Toys / Long-term Exhibit
Whether you were born in 1945 or 1995, or any time in between, you’ll find...
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Miniature Maze / Long-term Exhibit
Wind your way through a maze of miniature rooms and be a-mazed at what you...
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Toys From the Attic / Long-term Exhibit
Once, when we were children and the world was full of wonder, toys were the...
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English Cotswold Cottage, 1933-34 / Long-term Exhibit
This miniature room by Narcissa Niblack Thorne is one of the first set of rooms, made before she embarked on sets two and three that are on display at the Art Institute of Chicago. The room was exhibited at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago (1934) and The Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco (1940). From the early 1960s until 2019, the location of the room was unknown.
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In the Artist’s Studio / Long-term Exhibit
Have you ever wondered how miniatures are made? Your questions are answered In the Artist’s...
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Masterpiece Gallery / Long-term Exhibit
Museum co-founder Barbara Hall Marshall had a vision for a special room to display 31...
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Toys, Inc. / Long-term Exhibit
Toy production mirrors the innovations, triumphs, and conflicts of a swiftly changing world. Evolving over...
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Miniature Art Museum / Long-term Exhibit
The 17-1/2’ long work, created by Los Angeles-based artist Chris Toledo, is comprised of a central atrium and five galleries. The atrium features various classical Greek and Roman architectural elements, which Toledo derived from his observations of design and construction at a number of historic museums throughout the world.
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Art of the Imagination Case
Stephen T. Johnson’s creative and whimsical approach to the alphabet is featured in the Art...
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Portraits of Childhood: Black Dolls from the Collection of Deborah Neff
June 29, 2024 - March 3, 2025 Portraits of Childhood: Black Dolls from the Collection...
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Local Artists Go Miniature
Fine-scale miniature artists in the collection of The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures create...
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Bridging the Gender Divide: Toys That Build STEM Skills
From chemistry to construction, toys have prepared generations of kids to pursue careers in STEM...
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Parlor Performances: Theatrical Toys for Home Play
This special exhibit features a variety of toys, dating primarily from 1880 to 1980, that...
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The Doll Gallery
Thirty-five new dolls are on exhibit, including a Queen Anne-style doll (1750-1800); Baby Moss, a...
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Toys
The toy collection documents society’s cultural beliefs, technological advancements, and the hopes and dreams of generations of children from the 18th century to the present.
Exhibits such as the award-winning Toys from the Attic: Stories of American Childhood examine the role toys play in providing comfort, and teaching skills. Stories collected and told through children’s point of view encourage visitors to think about the meaning of their own toys and fuel conversations about childhood and the importance of memories.
Explore ToysMiniatures
The Museum’s fine-scale miniature collection includes architectural works, room settings, fine art, decorative art, tools, equipment, and figures made to scale (usually 1:12). These miniatures are often working reproductions of objects in the full-scale world created by master artists.
Visitors can peek into Louis XV’s study at the Palace at Versailles, an Italian Renaissance studio, or a Boston Beacon Hill mansion, all without leaving Kansas City. Interactive areas such as In the Artist’s Studio highlight the ingenuity and skill miniature artists employ to create their intricately detailed works.
Explore Miniatures